Omar

THANK you so much for the recent coverage on HBO's "The Wire." Mary McNamara's article ["A Fitting Elegy to a Gritty, Grim City," March 10] was an appropriate eulogy for a series that I believe to be among the best dramatic television I have ever watched. However, I think she made a mistake in not acknowledging the character whose death, for me, brought the show to a close several weeks ago -- that of Omar Little (Michael K. Williams), the philosophical ghetto outlaw who took one to the head in typical shocking "Wire" fashion, the week before Snoop.

The Galaxy opens its season Saturday night facing the rival that knocked them out of the playoffs last year: Real Salt Lake. But the Galaxy will field a markedly different team at the StubHub Center after bolstering its ranks with several experienced players during the off-season. The moves were to correct the team's uneven play in 2013. "If there was a weakness last year, it's that we were inconsistent," said Coach Bruce Arena, who last month signed a multiyear contract extension.

Hany Abu-Assad should be used to the tension by now. The Palestinian director has shot most of his films ("Paradise Now," "Rana's Wedding") in a region known far more for its conflict than its cinema, and his story lines often take place in between tangles of barbed wire and crowded checkpoints. But filming "Omar" on the West Bank and in his hometown of Nazareth almost proved too much - even for Abu-Assad. "At the end of the shoot, I told everybody, 'I'm not going to make another movie,'" said the director.

Hany Abu-Assad should be used to the tension by now. The Palestinian director has shot most of his films ("Paradise Now," "Rana's Wedding") in a region known far more for its conflict than its cinema, and his story lines often take place in between tangles of barbed wire and crowded checkpoints. But filming "Omar" on the West Bank and in his hometown of Nazareth almost proved too much - even for Abu-Assad. "At the end of the shoot, I told everybody, 'I'm not going to make another movie,'" said the director.

There are two distinct images that open "Omar. " One is a face; one is a wall. Both are as resilient as resistant - defining elements and powerful metaphors for all that connects and divides us in Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad's unnerving new drama. The film first drew attention during last May's Cannes Film Festival where it was the Un Certain Regard jury winner. Now it is in a tight race for the foreign-language Oscar. BEST MOVIES OF 2013: Turan | Sharkey | Olsen The face is Omar's, portrayed by newcomer Adam Bakri, an excellent find for the filmmaker who relies on him to carry the emotional weight of this difficult movie.

- The state of war is also a state of mind, terrifying even the bravest as it changes and challenges them. This is what we are seeing reflected on movie screens. The stories of foot soldiers are shifting, becoming more intimate, more stripped to the bone, more concerned with the ripple effect of war's violence. At the Toronto Film Festival, war is the subject of several films. But three films in particular, two making their world premieres at the festival, provide insight into war's impact on its fighters.

If soccer were a game of checking boxes, Omar Gonzalez would be off to a flying start. Just look at his resume: In 2005, play for the U.S. at the FIFA Under-17 World Cup in Peru. Check. In 2007, play for the U.S. under-20s at the Pan-American Games in Brazil. Check. In 2008, win an NCAA championship with Maryland and pick up first-team All-American honors along the way. Check. In 2009, get selected in the first round of the Major League Soccer draft by the Galaxy and go on to win the MLS rookie-of-the-year award.

Donna Reed, who won an Oscar as a prostitute in "From Here to Eternity" but found her widest success as the ideal wife and mother on television's "The Donna Reed Show," died at her Beverly Hills home today from complications of pancreatic cancer. She was 64. Her husband, retired Army Col. Grover Asmus, was at her side when she died, family spokesman Harry Flynn said. Miss Reed had been hospitalized several months ago for ulcers. She went into Cedars-Sinai Medical Center on Dec.

When Omar Sosa walked onstage at the Jazz Bakery on Thursday evening, magisterially dressed in head-to-toe white, he carried with him a candle in one hand and a small carved deity in the other. Then, seated before his piano, he began tapping out notes in tandem with percussionist John Santos' extraordinary melange of found and sampled sounds, including cymbals, chimes, a cellphone ring tone and a child's music box playing "Frere Jacques."

Los Angeles area residents intending to go to the post office today may be in for a surprise as postal officials, seeking to cut $160 million from this year's operating budget, have closed down 21 offices on Saturdays and shortened weekday hours at more than 110 others. Mail delivery will still continue on Saturdays. However, there will no longer be Sunday pickup or processing, adding a one-day delay to mail delivery during the week.

Before last year, Matt Besler had never played a game for the U.S. soccer team. And when he finally earned his first start, he played next to the Galaxy's Omar Gonzalez, who was making only his third international appearance. Now 14 months and 26 combined caps later, both could be starting in Brazil in June, becoming the two most inexperienced center backs to play in a World Cup opener for the U.S. since 1950. That's news Gonzalez greets with a smile and a shrug. "I guess it's kind of cool.

There are two distinct images that open "Omar. " One is a face; one is a wall. Both are as resilient as resistant - defining elements and powerful metaphors for all that connects and divides us in Palestinian filmmaker Hany Abu-Assad's unnerving new drama. The film first drew attention during last May's Cannes Film Festival where it was the Un Certain Regard jury winner. Now it is in a tight race for the foreign-language Oscar. BEST MOVIES OF 2013: Turan | Sharkey | Olsen The face is Omar's, portrayed by newcomer Adam Bakri, an excellent find for the filmmaker who relies on him to carry the emotional weight of this difficult movie.

In some ways, nothing speaks to the global impact of the Academy Awards quite like the international response to the nominations for best foreign language film. The five nominees in the category are Belgium's “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Cambodia's “The Missing Picture,” Denmark's “The Hunt,” Italy's “The Great Beauty” and the Palestinian film “Omar.” The final five were selected from a shortlist of nine films that had been whittled down from 76 submissions.

Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez and forward Robbie Keane were both named to Major League Soccer's First XI, soccer's equivalent of a postseason all-star team. They were joined by two former Galaxy players, goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts, who helped the Portland Timbers to the best record in the Western Conference, and forward Mike Magee, who was traded to the Chicago Fire in May and finished the season with 21 goals. The postseason selection was the third for Gonzalez and the second for Keane, who led the Galaxy with 16 goals and 11 assists.

With every step he takes, with every dunk he makes, Omar Oraby is growing into a basketball star. USC's 7-foot-2 center played as if he was every inch of that Tuesday in the Trojans' 76-62 win over Cal State Fullerton at the Galen Center. Guard Byron Wesley continued his quiet dominance for USC, wiggling free for layups and leading the Trojans (3-1) with 22 points plus adding eight rebounds, but Oraby stood tall with his six blocked shots, nine rebounds and 15 points. Wesley finally shut down any hopes the Titans (2-2)

Omar Vizquel, the 11-time Gold Glove Award-winning shortstop who spent this past season as the Angels' roving infield instructor, is leaving the organization to become the first base coach for the Detroit Tigers, who recently hired Brad Ausmus as manager. Vizquel retired in 2012 after a 24-year big-league career in which he amassed 2,877 hits, made three All-Star Game appearances and was considered one of the best defensive shortstops in baseball history. Angels General Manager Jerry Dipoto, a Cleveland Indians teammate of Vizquel in 1994, believes Vizquel, 46, has the potential to manage in the big leagues.

For the second night in a row, a decision on a home run was reversed by umpires--this time in favor of the hitter. In the sixth inning of the Atlanta Braves' 8-3 victory over the Florida Marlins at Miami, Ryan Klesko's 15th home run gave the Braves a 6-1 lead. The ball hit the screen on the left-field foul pole and was ruled foul by third-base umpire Terry Tata and home-plate umpire Eric Gregg. But after Atlanta Manager Bobby Cox protested, the umpires met and reversed the decision.

Taliban leader Mullah Mohammed Omar is alive and on the run inside Afghanistan, but there has been no sign of Osama bin Laden for months, said a senior official in the south of the country. Ahmad Wali Karzai, brother of President Hamid Karzai and his special representative for the south, said there were regular reports of Omar traveling in southern Afghanistan with a small entourage. "He is traveling by motorcycle or by foot," he said.